Following years of doing what we do, traveling about, meeting new people, making new (and perhaps loosing a few) friends, taking on new responsibilities and challenges, learning (and forgetting some), do we come back to what we were interested in so very long ago? Do we, in essence come full circle?
This notion raised its head recently in a re-write of the f/go web site page, who-is-f-go.us. The page needs to be freshened up now that the logo‘s been updated. (Oh, well, and applied to most of f/go‘s communications, not including the f/go Rambler we see! And a separate blog on the refreshed logo and evolution will be coming up, likely next.)
In looking for the “soul“ of the work put into f/go, it seemed relevant to pull out a piece called Racers in Action created Sunday August 28, 1966. Apparently, as a 10 year old, I was awestruck after attending my first velodrome bike race at Brown Deer Park, just north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A friend of my dad‘s took me and my twin brother Scott. We didn‘t get out much those days, living a modest and seemingly isolated life. And even though Boy‘s Life magazine and it‘s unforgettable cover with Bobby Orr would not come out for another four years, I was dreaming beyond my own small world and the world of sports.
Upon returning home, I got right to work documenting the big story of the day. The crash! DAVE Johnson. It was Sunday 8/28/66 2 p.m. at Brown Deer park. It was the 1 mile Race. The track was 1-1/4 of a mile that meant 4 times around. They were riding 3 laps and then the one lap to go bell rang just at the last turn Dave hit another bike and lost balance. after 5 seconds another bike ran over Daves bike and lost his balance and flew over the hill and his bike flying over him. Dave Johnson got a scraped leg and it was all bare. Yep, a full story answering what, where, when, why and how, including illustration caption and by-line.
To be honest, I was just wishing there was a way I could get this hot story picked up, maybe by the Milwaukee Journal. I mean, this was hot news! Monday after school, I ran home to see the afternoon paper to be sure there was coverage.
The Milwaukee Journal covered Dave‘s race because he was a national junior champion from nearby Kenosha. Nothing about the crash, but at least they covered the event. I wrote a follow up and bumped it up in my “magazine“ thinking the general story should go first before the one about the crash.
I worked on Racers in Action over the weeks that followed grew to more than 20 pages and covered car racing, skiing, boat racing, trotters and running, and swimming with stories and photos. But interest soon dissipated especially when Scott reminded me that all I was doing was cutting out stories and putting them in a “book.”
I agreed. What was the point if I wasn‘t there, to witness it and offer a firsthand account? Don Scholander breaks 110 yard freestyle world record at 53.6 sec. Gordon Johncock v Mario Andretti race in Milwaukee 200.
It wasn‘t until high school that the opportunity emerged to write and publish about sports, as a writer for two years, and and columnist of “The Big J“ at Janesville Craig. Again, Scott was there as we co-edited the sports section of the monthly newspaper packed with stories about sports of all kinds.
So, this sports writing and photography thing have come full circle after a life of doing lots of other things. Which brings me to the idea that a circle is relative to this journey, realizing that what goes around often does come around.
And that‘s not necessarily a bad thing.